What Mattress Is Best For Your Back Pain?

According to a recent study, waterbeds and body-conforming foam mattresses appear better for those individuals who suffer from back pain as compared with hard mattresses. The study included more than 100 subjects who were randomly assigned a waterbed, body-conforming mattress or hard mattress. Subjects slept on their assigned mattresses for 30-days and were evaluated by researchers before and after the 30-days. Things evaluated included the subjects' reported back pain levels, daily functioning and amount of sleep achieved per night. While researchers found no significant difference between those sleeping on waterbeds and those sleeping on foam mattresses, they did find them both superior to the hard mattress. And while everyone responds differently, those suffering from back pains who sleep on a hard mattress may wish to consider changing to a softer, less stiff foam containing mattress or perhaps even those once very popular waterbeds.

Chiropractors May Be Integrated Into US Armed Forces

Republican and democratic senators have just introduced concurrent resolution in the US Senate to support commissioning doctors of chiropractic as officers in the Armed Forces. Senate Concurrent Resolution 75 requests that the Secretary of Defense take immediate steps to establish a career path for doctors of chiropractic as commissioned officers in all branches of the Armed Forces. According to ACA President Dr. Glenn Manceaux, DC, "This resolution, along with its House counterpart, sends a crystal-clear message to the Department of Defense that Congress wants doctors of chiropractic fully integrated into the Armed Forces health care system." The senators feel that "access to chiropractic care through commissioned chiropractic officers will enhance the combat readiness of military personnel" and will "increase the cost-effectiveness of military health care expenditures by taking advantage of the conservative, drugless and non-surgical care option" offered by doctors of chiropractic.

Exercise Type Can Affect Heart Muscle Differently

Findings from a new study show how endurance training versus strength training can have different effects on the heart muscle and heart function. Researchers evaluated 40 endurance and 24 strength athletes via echocardiography before and after 90 days of team training with their respective training routines. At the end of the study, both groups had experienced an increased mass in the left ventricle. However, endurance athletes showed better diastolic function in their left ventricle, as well as enlargement and more efficient contraction and relaxation in both of the lower chambers of the heart, or atria. The strength group actually had excessive enlargement in the left ventricle muscle and reduced diastolic function. The researchers commented that the results could help to determine the appropriate exercise for people with various heart problems. It also indicates that people aren't likely born with an "athletes" heart as many believe, but rather, it’s the training that is mostly responsible.

Improving Epilepsy Through Diet

Interesting research has come out showing a high-fat, low-carb diet can be beneficial to kids suffering from epilepsy. Researchers found that providing children who suffer from more stubborn epilepsy with a high-fat, low-carb diet (a "ketogenic diet") significantly reduced their frequency of seizures. After being randomly assigned either a standard diet or ketogenic diet, children consuming the ketogenic diet on average reduced their frequency of seizures by one third. Moreover, 38 percent of children consuming a ketogenic diet experienced a 50 percent reduction in seizure frequency. Researchers concluded that ketogenic diets were both safe and effective for children with drug-resistant epilepsy.